Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

After the morning court session ended, civil and military officials filed out of the Fengtian Hall, forming small groups. Their voices were kept very low, but they could not hide their excitement.

"His Highness Prince Rui is becoming more and more amazing," a secretary from the Ministry of Rites remarked to the head of the Ministry of Works beside him, flicking his sleeves.

"Did you see that? Today, His Majesty waved his hand, and a pile of gold appeared out of thin air in the hall! The gourd was so small, but the gold ingots poured out were like a waterfall. My legs went weak at the sight."

The official in charge of the Ministry of Works nodded repeatedly, his face still showing lingering fear: "Who isn't? Luckily, I didn't make a mistake today. This morning, when Minister Xia was about to stand up and complain about being poor, I almost seconded him, but I swallowed the words back before I could finish them."

"You didn't see it, but the moment His Majesty's lips curled into a smirk, I knew something bad was going to happen."

Another censor chimed in, "You know what, we'll all have to be careful when we go to court from now on."

Several officials exchanged a lingering, uneasy glance, silently offering a silent prayer for their colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue.

This morning at court, Zhu Di brought up another matter that required money.

When the budget for repairing the city walls of several military towns in the north was presented, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue turned green with dismay.

As usual, Xia Yuanji stepped forward and listed a long string of reasons, such as the national treasury being tight, taxes not being paid in full, and the people needing to recuperate. His arguments were reasonable and well-founded.

The other officials from the Ministry of Revenue nodded in agreement, and it seemed they were about to form a united front.

Zhu Di leaned back on his throne, and after they had all finished speaking, he smirked slightly: "The Yongle reign, is this all the good-for-nothings you've been supporting? Whatever I want to do, you all say there's no money. No money, huh? I have money."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled a palm-sized gourd from his sleeve and shook it casually.

A flash of golden light appeared at the mouth of the gourd, and a small pile of gold ingots and several pieces of jade of excellent quality poured out, stacking them on the imperial desk. The golden light dazzled the eyes of all the civil and military officials in the hall.

The important officials who had accompanied Zhu Di to Prince Rui's residence yesterday—Zhang Fu, Yang Rong, and Jian Yi—maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, but secretly chuckled to themselves, for they had already witnessed the power of this gourd.

Zhang Fu even quietly moved half a step to the side to make room for the pile of gold. But the other officials had never seen anything like it.

Their eyes widened as they stared at the palm-sized gourd, their minds filled with only one thought: Is this another of Prince Rui's magical treasures?

Xia Yuanji stood in the civil officials' class, his beard twitching, his expression as if he had just swallowed a live fly.

He simply couldn't understand it. He had been meticulous in his calculations for the sake of the country and its people, and every time he opposed spending money, he had a well-founded argument. Yet now His Majesty simply wouldn't listen to reason with him.

You think you're right? I have gold.

He sighed silently in his heart: As an old minister, I really can't bear Your Majesty's daily mistreatment. If you have money, just say so!

After the court session ended, several ministers who had visited Prince Rui's residence the day before were surrounded by a group of colleagues before they even reached the Meridian Gate.

A junior official from the Ministry of War who had never been there before approached Zhang Fu with a broad smile and asked in a low voice, "Duke of Yingguo, yesterday you rode the cloud to Prince Rui's residence with His Majesty? What was it like riding the cloud? We've never ridden it before, can you tell us?"

Before Zhang Fu could speak, Xue Lu chimed in, his voice so loud that several censors nearby turned around: "What's it like? Soft as cotton, a million times more comfortable than riding a horse! You haven't seen it, His Highness Prince Rui has plenty of good stuff. That gourd magic weapon His Majesty uses was made by His Highness Prince Rui from a gourd!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Rong coughed lightly and glanced at him.

Xue Lu then realized he had let something slip and scratched his head sheepishly.

But the words had already been spoken, and the expressions of the surrounding officials changed instantly.

No wonder the people from the Han Prince's Mansion and the Zhao Prince's Mansion were searching the whole city for gourds yesterday. They thought the princes just wanted to grow gourds for fun, but it turns out that His Highness Prince Rui wanted to refine a magic weapon!

Several quick-thinking officials immediately bowed and took their leave, then turned and ran out of the palace to collect the gourds. If they were late, not only would the good gourds be gone, but the gourd vines would be completely uprooted.

Yang Rong watched the officials hurriedly leave, shook his head at Xue Lu, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Lord Xue, you really should seal that mouth of yours. Now the whole court knows that His Highness Prince Rui wants the gourd."

Xue Lu scratched the back of his head and chuckled somewhat sheepishly, "I didn't think that much about it just now, I just blurted it out in the heat of the moment."

Several ministers who had sons or nephews serving as officials in Prince Rui's mansion were not in a hurry to leave, and their faces showed a hint of undisguised pride.

Zheng Heng stroked his beard, his tone full of emotion: "Yesterday, my son came back riding a white cloud and landed in the courtyard. I almost thought I was dreaming. His Highness Prince Rui is so generous; he not only gave him the Somersault Cloud but also rewarded him with the gourd magic weapon."

Jian Yi nodded repeatedly, looking relieved: "Who says otherwise? When my Jian Fang came back, his mother was so excited she almost fainted. This child used to work in the Ministry of Personnel, and I always thought he was too unreliable. Now it seems I was short-sighted."

"It's a pity we old folks are getting too old, otherwise we could have gotten jobs at Prince Rui's mansion. The positions of officials in Prince Rui's mansion are so enviable," Zheng Heng said with a hint of sourness.

"Who says otherwise?" Xue Lu chimed in.

"That is a disciple personally taught by the Dao Ancestor. Throughout history, there have been few people as powerful as him. His Highness Prince Rui is a true immortal. To serve by his side is to truly serve an immortal."

Once the conversation started, the senior officials became increasingly enthusiastic, lowering their voices but also raising their tone: "Do you think that if His Highness Prince Rui ascends to heaven in the future, his officials, who are all his sons and nephews, will also be able to ascend to heaven as celestial officials?"

Ascension and becoming a celestial official—these were words that only existed in storybooks in the past, but now that His Highness Prince Rui is right in front of us, who dares to say it's impossible?

After a moment of silence, Yang Rong waved his hand: "Alright, alright, stop thinking about these things. Let's serve His Highness Prince Rui well, and he certainly won't treat us unfairly. Instead of daydreaming here, let's go back and think about how to gather more good gourds."

The people around nodded in agreement, clasped their hands in farewell, and dispersed.

Everyone walked a little faster than they had walked, all with the same thought in their minds.

The son's position as an official in the Prince Rui's mansion is due to his own abilities, but the fathers cannot rely solely on their sons.

In the future, when visiting the mansion during festivals, the son will have a sword-nurturing gourd hanging from his waist and somersaulting clouds under his feet. The father can't be empty-handed and can't even bring out something decent. How can he stand up straight in front of his son then?

We need to hurry back and mobilize our manpower to find a high-quality gourd and send it to Prince Rui before the news spreads throughout the city. Otherwise, once everyone has found one, we'll only be left with leftovers.